Rosedale Golf Club

Rosedale clubhouse, 1921

Rosedale Golf Club is a private golf club in Toronto, founded in 1893 in Moore Park. The course hosted the Canadian Open in 1912 and 1928.

History[]

Founded in 1893 in Moore Park as a 9-hole course and moved to Rosedale, Toronto in 1895–1896 on what is now Rosedale Field. It was a 15 acres eighteen hole course^[1] that ran along Highland Avenue from just west of the Rosedale Field to as far as Glen Road and just north of Summerhill Avenue.

This location was short lived as the land was owned by and the area was being acquired to become a residential development called North Rosedale.^[2]

In 1909, the course moved north along the Don River to its current site between the neighbourhoods of Teddington Park to the west, Lawrence Park to the south, The Bridle Path to the east and Hoggs Hollow to the north.

Controversy[]

In 2004 the club was sued by McDonald's Canada chairman and CEO George Cohon who alleged that the club rejected his membership application due to his Jewish heritage.^[3]

Tournaments[]

The club has hosted several tournaments including the Canadian Open in 1912 and 1928. In more recent years, the club has elected to only host tournaments that cause little disruption to the membership. The course record of 63 is held jointly by Greg Norman and former Rosedale assistant pro, Lorne Rowe.

Current course[]

The present course was initially designed by the American designer Thomas Bendelow, but within a decade was re-worked by golf course architect Donald Ross. It plays to par 71 (73 for ladies) and is 6,525 yards in length. Each hole on the course is distinctive, with water in play on 9 of the 18 holes, big elevation changes and tight, rolling fairways. Because of its exclusivity, Rosedale has not been played by many golf writers or professionals, and therefore does not appear on many of the golf course ranking lists; however, those who have played the course rank it as one of the best "classic" golf courses in Canada.